New Arrival
by MordecaiMartian
Summary: Duel Academy has a new arrival aspiring to be the King of Games
1. Chapter 1

"Don't worry," said the guard, "you were accepted, you deserve to be here." The guard was talking to a new arrival to Duel Academy. He arrived late in the year, this year was going to be different, not because of the graduation of the great duelist from the academy, such as Jaden Yuki, Zane Truesdale, Alexis Rhodes, Chazz Princeton, and Bastion Misawa, but because of the arrival of the newest student.

"What's it like at Duel Academy?" asked the young boy sitting in the back of the back of the truck. His voice sounded unusually hardened for a boy of only 14. It was slightly deeper than usual, and had a light raspiness to it, also it was filled a grim tone, this kid had had some bad times.

"I don't know, wasn't into this game when I was your age," answered the guard, "I only make these escorts."

"Really, this game is all I have," the guard didn't know how to answer.

"Were here," said the guard as they arrived at their destination, the boy didn't move.

"Hurry and get on the plane I a'int got all day," yelled another escort. The boy finally got up and stepped forward, He's was a little short, with short buzzed hair, and a leather coat that came down to his knees. He stepped forward to get on the plane that would take him to the island that embodies every thing his life is, Duel Academy. The plane ride was a long one and the boy had fallen asleep along the way. The boy awoke to a hand shaking his shoulder, telling him to wake up. When he opened his eyes he saw what he had dreamt about since he discovered duel monsters. In the early morning sun, over the golden horizon an image started to appear, it was Duel Academy.

"It's 'bout dang time," moaned the boy as he awoke and stretched. You couldn't tell by the expression on his face, or the way he acted, or even by the way he spoke, but the boy was more nervous then you could ever imagine. He was about to arrive at the place he would call home for the next four years.

"Good morning," bellowed a happy Chancellor Shephard, "and welcome to the worlds most prestigious dueling high school, Duel Academy."

"Thanks," said the boy unenthusiastically.

"Well, you seem happy, I'll give you you're uniform, dorm, and class schedule," said Shephard as he went to his desk to extract some papers, "and here you go, you're dorm is Slifer Red, I hope you study hard." The new student arrived at his dorm, which looked like a low rent shed with a second story. The boy didn't seem to happy (but then again he never did) so he proceeded to his dorm. Once he reached the inside he discovered that the curb appeal didn't say much for the inside. It wasn't nothing high class, but it was very tidy and well kept. There were two other students already in the room, they were still asleep, but who could blame them after all it was only 6:00 in the morn. The boy changed into his uniform and put his stuff away. All the beds were taken so he pulled up a chair and continued the sleep that was interrupted on the plane trip.

"Who is that dude?" said a voice.

"Don't know, he was just here when I woke up." The boy, who had heard this, opened one eye and stared at his class mates. One was a tall gangly kid, he had red hair that came down to his neck and was kinda pale. The other had a big smile on his face he had short light brown hair, he was about average height, but some thing about him made him seem like a giant, he had a certain air about him. This student was different. They continued to stare at each other for awhile. eventually the boy said "boo" opened his other eye and got up.

"That always seems scarier in the movies dude," sarcastically remarked the class mate with the brown hair, still wearing the smile. This remark also happened to put a little smile on the new student's face.

"So dude, you got a name 'sides dude, dude."

"Yeah," he yawned, "I'm Parka."

"Awesome at meet'ya ma name's Phane, and that dude's Kopagh."

"Yeah that's me," said the red haired class mate.

"So," said Phane, "guess were roomey's."

"I guess so."

"Dude you alright, I mean you seem a little down."

"You'll get used to it, that's the way I am." The class mates continued with idle chatter until it was almost class time, the two who were sleeping got up, got dressed, and the three went got to class.

"Today class we have a new student, his name is Parka and he just arrived as a Slifer Slac... err I mean Slifer Red." Every person in class was staring at Parka, he looked around and finally said.

"Yo."

"Parka, I am Dr. Vellian Crowler, I have a PHD in dueling and I will be your basic duel training teacher. We have a test today but you don't have to take it because you're a new arrival."

"What's it on?" asked Parka.

"Pardon?" asked Crowler.

"What is the test on?" Parka repeated slowly.

"The test is on field spells, why?"

"I'll take it." said Parka calmly.

"Dude you don't know what you're getting your self into." warned Phane

"Yeah, Crowler gives the hardest tests out of any teacher at the academy," Parka did not seemed the least bit worried.

"Fine, Ashleigh, please pass this test to Parka." at that point the most beautiful girl Parka had ever seen got up. She was clad in a sleeveless shirt, and a short skirt, all in yellow. She had long raven black hair which she wore totally down, she had long smooth legs, and large, firm, round, valumpcious breasts. She got up and walked over to Parka and handed him the test. As she started to walk away she said.

"Welcome to Duel Academy," all Parka could do was lift his head in motion that kinda said "kay", and watch her butt, which was barley covered by her skirt, shake in a hypnotizing rhythm as she walked away. Parka was quickly snapped out of this trance when Crowler announced the start of the test. Parka finished the test in a matter of minutes. Everyone else seemed to be having some trouble with it. Parka began doodling (which he was fairly good at) on a blank sheet of paper.

"Parka, you volunteered to take this test, so get to work." barked Crowler.

"I'm done, have been for a while."

"Then let me see your test, bring it here now," Crowler looked over the test, then looked over it again. He couldn't believe his eyes, this new arrival, which had not seen any of Crowler's lessons, had just made a perfect score.

"Yes, well, very good Parka, a perfect score, the rest of you could learn from him."

"WHAT, there's no way that Slifer Slacker could've made a perfect score," shouted a young man from Obelisk Blue at the top of the class.

"What's your name?" asked Parka.

"Chrak" replied the young man.

"Shut up Chrak," said Parka in a calm manner.

"Why don't you say that to my face slacker." Parka then proceeded to walk up the stairs to the top of the class and say.

"Shut up Chrak," Chrak didn't say another word but instead sat down with an embarrassed look of rage on his face. The rest of the day went smoothly, when they got back to their dorm Phane had an idea.

"Were all newly acquainted dudes, so we should get to know each other. What better way to do that then to show each other our favorite card," they all three agreed, and searched their decks for the card which each favored. It didn't take long for any of them to find their pick.

"Here's mine," announced Kopagh as he pulled a card from his deck, "Xenos, The Destructive Warrior (2400/2100 Earth, Warrior) this cards awesome, when it deals damage to your opponent that damage is doubled."

"That's a sweet card dude, but mine tops that Elemental Hero- Flame Boltman (2200/2000 Light, Warrior/ Fusion- Elemental Hero Sparkman + Elemental Hero Burstinatrix) with cards effect I can discard a monster from my hand to do direct damage to my opponents life points equal to that monsters attack. What about yours Parka?" Parka was silent for a minute, then showed them his choice.

"Mine would have to be this one, the Summoned Skull."

"WHAT?" shouted his roommates hysterically.

"You got a problem with the skull?" asked Parka. Phane was the first to reply.

"Dude, that may be a sweet card if you need a powerful monster quick, but it ''''aint got no special ability or nothin like that."

"A duelists favorite card shouldn't be so because of a special ability, but because of a special connection with it," his roommates were quiet, thinking about what he had said.

"Oh, I see what your saying, your favorite card should be one you can rely on to duel with you, not for you, that's deep man," replied Kopagh.

"Dude I don't see how you could get a perfect score without attending one lesson," complained Phane as the three were looking over their test. Phane had expected to do better than a low C.

"Really?" asked Parka, "the answer to all the questions are like in the rule book."

"No way!" shouted Kopagh, "I read over the rulebook all the time, my grades should be way better."

"Keep studyin and they will be." they continued to talk on their way to the cafeteria for lunch. Parka was standing in line with his tray when he heard a voice behind him.

"Congratulations on your test," Parka turned around to see the girl that given him his test, "I don't think we've been properly introduced, I'm Ashleigh and your Parka, right?" all Parka could do was shake his head in agreeance. Ashleigh got her food and went to sit at a table with her friends, and Parka, as he would do every time from now on when she turned around, stared at her big, round, juicy butt. Parka found the table where Phane and Kopagh were sitting and headed that way.

"Dude you were totally under the spell dude," Phane laughed as he talked to Parka.

"What spell?" asked Parka with a confused tone.

"They call it the 'Witch's Spell'," explained Kopagh, "it's a spell cast by Ashleigh, it makes boys fall head over heels for her."

" 'Witch's Spell'," repeated Parka, "well, she's definitely not a witch, but she casts some sort of spell." they finished lunch and went to the rest of their classes where Parka exceeded in all the classes.

"You're a regular Bastion Misawa dude, a total egghead," teased Phane. Parka appreciated the compliment, and said it was easy. Suddenly a voice came from behind them.

"Hey, slacker turn around!" the voice commanded, "I got a bone to pick with you, ya flunky," when Parka turned around he saw that it was Trak, the young man that he had stared down during Crowler's class. Trak was looked to be a year or so older than Parka, he was wearing blue blazer as was the requirements for Obelisk Blue students. He had a haircut that had medium sized spikes shooting out in every direction.

"How dare you embarrass me in front of the entire class." Parka slowly turned around and walked toward Trak.

"Actually you embarrassed yourself, if you didn't want to be embarrassed you should've stood your ground." at this Trak became infuriated.

"Alright you talk big but can you duel?" Trak activated his duel disk, daring Parka to duel him. Parka was silent for a moment, then he lifted his head, his face now had a sadistic smile on his face and replied.

"Duel that's what I came here for," Parka activated his duel disk. Phane and Kopagh had excited looks on their faces, but they were also nervous, this was Parka's first duel at Duel Academy. They didn't know what to expect out of him, they had never seen him duel or looked through his deck.

"You're about to get pounded slacker, you can't beat Trak Canton."

"Trak Canton, you're name's stupider than your haircut."

"Enough stalling, throw down slacker, I'll give you the honor of going first." The to drew their hands and Parka drew his sixth card.

"I'll place this card in face down defense position, and end my turn."

"That's all, pathetic, I summon King Fog (900/1000 Dark, Fiend) in attack position and attack your face down."

"You just activated it's effect, go Cyber Jar," both player's picked up their five cards and showed them to each other, "I'll summon The Creator Incarnate (1600/1500 Light, Warrior) and Goblin Elite Attack Force (2200/1500 Earth, Fiend) in attack mode."

"And I'll play Shining Angel (1400/800 Light, Fairy) and Protector of the Throne (800/1500 Earth, Warrior) in defense mode, and play a face down, your turn."

"I'll play two face downs and attack you're Protector of the Throne with Goblin Elite Attack Force," the goblins charged at the helpless protector and obliterated her, "next I'll destroy that Shining Angel with The Creator Incarnate."

"When Shining Angel is sent to the graveyard I can special summon a light monster with 1500 ATK or less from my deck, I choose Queen's Knight (1500/1600 Light, Warrior)." Trak laughed, this was exactly what he wanted.

"I'll end my turn, your move." Parka eyed Trak, and wondered what he was up to.

"Good, I summon King's Knight (1600/1400 Light, Warrior) in attack mode, and when he's summoned while Queen's Knight is on the field I can special summon a Jack's Knight (1900/1000 Light, Warrior) from my deck. I'll have all my knights attack, King's Knight destroy Goblin Elite Attack Force," the knight attacked the goblins who were now in defense position because of their special ability, "Next, I'll have Jack's Knight attack that Creator Incarnate," however this attack was thwarted.

"I activate Magic Cylinder, redirecting that attack back at your life points (Trak LP2100)."

"Grrrr, no trouble, I'll just end my turn."

"I draw," Parka thought for a moment then made his move, "I'll sacrifice The Creator Incarnate to summon The Creator (2300/3000 Light, Thunder), then I'll activate it's special ability. By discarding one card from my hand I can special summon a card from my graveyard, I choose my goblins. Next I'll have them attack," but Trak still had some tricks up his sleeve.

"I activate the trap card Royal Guard, this allows me to summon knight tokens to all the empty monster card zones on my side of the field, and you've got to attack them before you can attack my knights."

"Fine, go attack the knight tokens," his monsters destroyed the knights tokens but something was wrong, "What, your life points are untouched," Parka was astonished.

"When my knight tokens are destroyed they still guard my life points, you can't beat me." Parka had become a little concerned but made his move.

"I'll play two more face downs, and end my turn." Trak's facial expression had changed; he now had a strange smile on his face.

"I'll draw, then sacrifice my knights to summon Ace Slasher (2400/2400 Light, Warrior) then I use his special ability to destroy all monsters on your side of the field," the Ace Slasher sent out a huge shock wave from his sword destroying The Creator and Goblin Elite Attack Force, "I'll then attack your life points directly."

"My Draining Shield will stop that attack and add it to my life points." Parka then activated his trap.

"It would, if hadn't of activated Royal Decree, which stops all trap cards, so my attack still stands." the Ace Slacher's charge remained unhalted.

"I activate Quick Play, this allows me to activate a face down magic card on my side of the field. I activate Swords of Revealing Light," the Ace Slasher's giant sword collided with three shining swords, canceling out his attack.

"Those swords won't protect you for long, I summon Barron of the Fiend Sword (1550/800 Dark, Fiend) and I'll equip him with Dark Energy, increasing his stats by 300. That's all for my move."

"Hmm, I activate Pot of Greed, and draw two cards. Then I'll play this card in defense mode and end my turn.  
"Your going down now slacker, I draw. Perfect, I'll activate Ace Slasher's effect, destroying all your monsters." Parka's field was now empty.

"The card you just destroyed was Witch of the Black Forest (1100/1200 Dark, Spellcaster) and when it's sent to the graveyard I can get a monster with 1500 defense or less from my deck and add it to my hand."

"That's not a problem, 'cause you won't get to play it. I sacrifice Ace Slasher and Barron of the Fiend Sword to summon Dark Magician (2500/2000 Dark, Spellcaster), then I'll activate Knight's Title, this allows me to sacrifice a Dark magician on my side of the field to special summon a Dark Magician Knight (2500/2100 Dark, Warrior) from my deck."

"That doesn't matter, you can't attack because of my Swords of Revealing Light."

"Wrong, when Dark Magician Knight is summoned to the field it can destroy one card on the field, I choose to destroy your swords," the Dark Magician Knight's sword glowed a bright green, and all of a sudden the swords protecting Parka's life points were gone, " now your dead, go, Dark Magician Knight attack his life points directly (Parka LP1500) your move dropout."

"Grrr, that stung a little, I'll draw, play a face down, and end my turn."

"Hah, my Dark Magician Knight has left you defenseless, now I attack!"

"That attack won't stand, I activate scapegoat," four little balls of fluff appeared on the field, guarding Parka's life points.

"No matter I'll just summon Queens Double (350/300 Earth, Warrior), then I'll have them both attack."

"So you've destroyed two of my goats, no biggie."

"Count again you're only missing one goat, my Dark Magician Knight did destroy one of your goats. However my queens double can attack your life points directly," (Parka LP1150) Things were not looking good for Parka. Trak ended his turn and thought he had the match in the bag.

"There's nothing I can do right now, I'll play a face down and end my turn." things were looking grim.

"Stupid slacker can't even protect him self, I'll my knight attack destroying one more of those pathetic fur balls. Then I'll equip Queen's Double with Sword of the Deep Seated, increasing it's attack by 500, then I'll attack you directly (Parka LP300) I'm done."

"My turn, and I activate The Perfect Draw! This card allows me to skip the draw I would usually get and choose one card from my deck to add to my hand. I choose Monster Reborn. Next I'll activate Graceful Charity I'll draw three and discard two. Then I'll activate Monster Reborn and summon the Summoned Skull I sent to the graveyard with Graceful Charity's effect; next I'll activate Harpie's Feather Duster. You're Sword of the Deep Seated is gone."

"What! I mean, that won't be any trouble. I activate the card Retreat; I can discard this card from my hand to return one warrior monster from the field to my hand. I'll return Queen's Double to my hand. My life points are safe for now."

"That's what you think, I equip Unite We Stand to my Summoned Skull (4900/3600) which increases his attack by 800 for each monster on my side of the field, including my goats. Now Summoned Skull; attack Dark Magician Knight with fiend skull lightning!"

"But I'm defenseless, I'm done for. NOOOOOO!" the lightning attack from the Summoned Skull hit the Dark Magician Knight square on. (Trak LP0000).

"That's game dude, he won, he won, he won, he won," Phane cheered as he and Kopagh celebrated.

"H-h-how c-could I lose to this s-s-s-slacker, I-it's n-n-not fair!"

"That's game Trak, good match. I thought you had me there for a second," said Parka as he walked up to Trak and extended his hand in good sportsmanship. Trak furiously slapped his hand away.

"Don't you dare try to touch me slacker, you got lucky or cheated or something, I don't know what you did but you didn't win fair. You haven't dueled me for the last time, and next time I'll hand you the most embarrassing defeat you can imagine."

"I don't think so, even if you manage to beat me I don't think I'd be wearing my underwear with the whole school watching," Parka jokingly said in response to the "most embarrassing defeat" comment.

"Dude some of that already came true," said Phane as he pointed to his surroundings. Almost every student in school had watched Trak get defeated by a Slifer Red.

"Why the crowd?" Parka asked. Kopagh explained.

"Whatya mean 'why', you just defeated the second best duelist in school!"

"Second?" Parka said puzzled, " who's the best in the school."

"It's a Truesdale dude."

"What, Zane graduated years ago."

"I know dude, it's his little bro, Cyrus Truesdale."

The three went back to their dorm to celebrate the magnificent victory.

"I can't believe that come back dude, I thought he had you dude. Man if that's the way you duel normally then I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds dude."

"I admit I was worried their for a second, but I want to talk about Cyrus," Parka was eager to learn more about his competition this year, "I know he's Zane's little brother and that he came in third in the King of Games tournament after a narrow victory against Joey Wheeler, but that's about all."

"Well ever since the 'incident' all those years ago he hasn't lost a match at Duel Academy." explained Kopagh who was eager to help.

"What do you mean 'incident'." asked Parka who was completely in the dark.

"Well rumor has it that about 3 years ago 7 shadow riders came to Duel Academy in search of some keys so they could open these gates and get their hands on some legendary rare cards, and that's all l know."

"I appreciate the information, and you can bet I'm gonna find out more."

"How," asked Phane.

"By dueIing him," Parka answered with a determine look on his face. There was a silence for a moment then Kopagh spoke up.

"C'mon guys let get back to celebrating, I hear Professor Banner's going to throw you a big congratulations party." As predicted Banner threw Parka a big party in honor of his win. The party was spectacular, almost every body in Slifer Red was there. Even Ashleigh stopped by to say congrats, at which point Parka's knees barely gave out. At the end of the party Parka got up on the table and gave a rousing speech.

"I think this was one of the best ways to start off the year, especially for Slifer Red. I showed every one that just because were in the lowest dorm doesn't mean were of the lowest quality of duelist," at this, the dorm erupted in a magnificent cheer, "thank you, and I showed them that not only are we Slifer Red, but we are not Slifer slackers, were Slifer Slayers," the crowd once again erupted in a roar of applause and cheering, "yeah, we're not just Slifer Red were Slifer Red Hot." that was the end of his speech. The party continued into the wee hours of the morning.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap," Parka shouted as he was running to class already late. The party had made most of his dorm sleep in. Parka was almost to class, all he had to do was turn this corner and he'd be home free. Suddenly a wall of blue appeared out of nowhere, which Parka crashed into.

"Dude are you alright, you should really watch where you're going you almost knocked the grilled cheese out of my hand."

"Sorry I was in a hurry," Parka said as he apologized.

"Hey you're the dude who beat Trak right?"

"Yeah that's me."

"Dude I saw that match it was totally lishus."


	2. Chapter 2

When the last chapter left off Parka had just ran into a large student while rushing to class.

"Sorry 'bout that," said Parka.

"No biggie. Hey, aren't you that dude that beat Trak?"

"Yeah."

"Dude I saw that duel, it was totally lishus," Parka rose to his feet to see a student staring at him. The student was unusually big; he had a large, pale pink nose, and beady eyes. His hair was black with two spiky poof balls; he resembled a giant koala.

"Lishus, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing; are you all right?"

"Yeah; I gotta get to class. Sorry again." said Parka as he rushed to class. Parka arrived five minutes late to class to discover a room full of half-asleep Slifer Reds.

"I'm glad you could join us Parka," said Professor Sartyr, "take your seat, and try to stay awake. Unlike the rest of your dorm."

"Hey," came a whisper to Parka's left, "where've you been?" Parka turned to see Kopagh.

"I ran into this big guy from Obelisk blue in the hallway, he said my duel with Trak was delicious or something."

"You mean lishus?"

"Yeah that's it."

"That's Chummley, he's a nice guy. He's just not real bright, he's also kind of lazy." Parka thought, he could swear he'd heard that name somewhere before. Parka didn't think much of it.

"Hey," said Parka, "where's Phane?"

"He's dueling."

"WHAT!"

"Yeah, he's taking an exam."

"Exam? What kind of exam; there's no test today."

"It's for S.A.I.D. class."

"What's S.A.I.D.?"

"It stands for 'Special Achievements In Dueling'; it's a class for kids with killer dueling skills."

"He's gonna be in that class; we got go watch his duel."

"We can't we're in class."

"So? I'm goin. You do what you want," Kopagh let out a heavy sigh and decided to go along with Parka to watch his friend's duel.

"So what kind of deck does his opponent have?" Parka asked Kopagh on the way to the duel arena.

"You mean opponents. He has to duel the four most elite members of the class. He usually gets past the first three pretty easily, but he can't ever beat that snotty, stuck-up Arthur." Kopagh suddenly had an enraged look on his face.

"Arthur, I take it, is the fourth member of the class?" asked Parka.

"Yeah," Kopagh said, still with the look of anger on his face, "he thinks he so much better than every one else just because he's super rich."

"So," said Parka, "if he thinks he's better than everybody because of his money, than he's just saying he has nothing else he can brag about being better than anybody at." Kopagh was silent for a moment, and then said.

"You're right, he's just a big 'ol dork." Parka's word's seemed to cheer up Kopagh.

"Where's the arena he's dueling at?" asked Parka. He soon got a response from out of nowhere when he heard.

"Elemental Hero Burstinatrix (1200/800 Warrior, Fire) go, in attack mode."

"That sounded like Phane," said Parka, "I think he just started." Parka and Kopagh hurried into the arena where the sound came from to see Phane beginning his duel.

"Hey dudes, what up? I was just about to wipe this dude out, for the kajillionth time." Parka and Kopagh were relieved to see Phane in his usual relaxed mood."

"You won't beat me again you slacker; I summon Skilled Dark Magician, (1900/1700 Spellcaster, Dark) and he'll destroy your Burstinatrix." the magician attacked the E.hero and destroyed her. (Phane LP-3300).

"No biggie. I'll activate Reinforcement of the Army; this allows me to get Elemental Hero Clayman (800/2000 Warrior, Earth) from my deck to my hand. Then I'll activate Polymerization, and fuse Elemental Hero Sparkman and Clayman together to make the Elemental Hero Thunder giant. (2400/1500 Warrior, Light) Next I'll discard a card from my hand to destroy a monster on the field with an original attack lower than Thundergiant's attack," Thundergiant suddenly released an amazingly bright wave of golden lightning, which destroyed the Skilled Dark Magician in an immense explosion of sparks and thunder.

"My Magician," cried the boy he was dueling against Phane, "nooooo, he's gone."

"Yeah and that's not all dude," said Phane with a sudden seriousness in his voice, "then I'll activate Hero Heart, this will halve my monsters attack but allow him to attack twice (1200/1500)."

"But that will do the same amount of damage as if you hadn't halved his attack." Kopagh pointed out. "Not so dude, then I'll equip Thundergiant with Lightning Blade increasing his attack by 800, (2000/1500) now Thundergiant attack. (Boy LP-2000) One more time Thundergiant," Thundergiant charged his power, preparing for an electric explosion. Thundergiant launched his attack. It was an awesome mixture of golden sparks and booming thunder. (Boy LP-0000).

"Great duel Phane," shouted Parka.

"Indeed," said a voice, "I am Bartholomew and my insects will squash you."

"You don't waste any time getting' to the point Bart," yelled Parka who was caught slightly off guard by Bartholomew's sudden forwardness.

"Bugs?" said Kopagh puzzled, "You're going to try to beat him with some creepy crawlers?" Bartholomew had an angered look on his face; he had clearly been insulted that his insects were not thought of in a high and proper manner.

"Fine were going to duel, now." said Phane. Bartholomew activated his duel disk and drew his six cards.

"You don't stand a chance you know," said Bartholomew with a smug little grin on his face, "I'll play Parasitic Ticky (/? Insect, Earth)," a giant white tick appeared on the field. It was armed with a bag, which was strapped on it's back, full of strange batons. Along with bottles of what appeared to be animal blood around its waist. "Then I'll play a face down and end my turn."

"Perfect, I draw. I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman, (1600/1400 Warrior, Light) and attack your bug," Sparkman charged a blast of lightning, and fired.

"Nice try," said Bartholomew, with another sum grin on his face, "I activate scapegoats, summoning four sheep tokens to my side of the field. Now, for every token I have on my side of the field my Parasitic Ticky gains five hundred attack/defense points, (2000/2000) your Sparkman's dead," the static attack from Sparkman was dodged, Ticky charged at Sparkman and hit him with one of those strange batons. (Phane LP-3100) "That should keep you from bringing out that pesky Thundergiant."

"That may be, but Clayman has a number of other possibilities. Like this one for example. I fuse together Clayman and Burstinatrix to make the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster, (2000/2500 Warrior, Earth) " a huge female golem with a cannon like right arm suddenly appeared, "and when she's in defense mode she can attack directly, but it does use half of her attack." the Rampart Blaster fired a myriad of fiery rockets, which hit Bartholomew directly. (Bartholomew LP-3000)

"It's my turn you imbecile. I activate Thunder Crash, now all cards of mine are destroyed and I do 300 points of damage to you for each one destroyed. That's a total of 1200, (Phane LP-1900) then I'll activate this trap card. By discarding Roach's Shell when I destroy one of my monsters using one of my cards effect, I can summon an insect monster from my graveyard. I'll summon my Parasitic Ticky, and then sacrifice him for my Saber Beetle. (2400/600 Insect, Earth) I'll equip my Saber Beetle with Ballista of Rampart Smashing, now when my Saber Beetle attacks a defense position monster he gets a 1500 attack bonus. Now I'll smash your Rampart Blaster to pieces," the beetle attacked with his giant glowing upper horn. The Rampart Blaster was gone. "Also when my Saber Beetle destroys a monster in defense mode the difference is taken from your life points, (Phane LP-500)" Phane suddenly became extremely nervous, and started to shake.

"What's wrong with him," asked Parka.

"He's afraid of losing," Kopagh answered.

"What!" Parka was astonished. "You can't be afraid Phane. I mean you've lost to these guys before, and for the short time I've known you you've been the most happy-go-lucky guy I've ever met. You 'aint got a care in the world. Remember, you are no Slifer slacker. You're a Slifer Slayer," these words seemed to encourage Phane. He stopped shaking and his face returned to its softer state.

"Dude, you're totally right dude. I take getting into this class so seriously just because my dad started it. But, dude, I also remember why he started it, because the dude loved dueling. He wanted to hang out with people that shared his passion for dueling; it was these guys that started saying dudes and dudettes had to have the best cards to get in. That's not right dude."

"Enough," screamed Bartholomew "this is called 'Special Achievements In Dueling', of course you have to have the best cards. How else would you get special achievements," Phane grinned and looked at Bartholomew.

"You just don't get it, do you dude. That special achievement is releasing the passion for dueling every dude has inside them. After my dad graduated though you stuck up Obelisk Blues took over and changed the initiation process, excluding dudes who love dueling, but may not have had all the skill. I'm going to change that's let's duel dude."

"It's about time, your gibberish was starting to put me to sleep. It's your turn."

"All right I draw, and I summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman, and when he's summoned by himself I get to draw two more cards. They're just what I needed, fist I'll activate Skyscraper. Next I'll activate Miracle Fusion and fuse Bubbleman and Burstinatrix to make the Elemental Hero Steam Healer (1800/1000 Warrior, Water), and now I'll attack your Saber Beetle. Thanks to my Skyscraper I gain 1000 extra attack points," the Steam Healer Released a heavy cloud of steam that took out the Saber Beetle. (Bartholomew LP-2400)

"No! My beetle."

"Yeah, and when Steam Healer destroys a monster my life are increased by the destroyed monsters attack. (Phane LP-2900)

"Fine. It's my turn I draw; next I'll remove my Parasitic Ticky and Saber Beetle from play to summon Anteatereatingant (2000/500 Insect, Earth). Then I'll have him attack your Steam Healer. (Phane LP-2900) Then I'll play a face down, and end my turn."

"You're probably wondering why my life points are safe, huh dude?"

"Actually I am a little curious to why that is."

"It's because when you attacked I discarded Kuriboh negating all damage from that attack. Now I'll summon Elemental Hero Wildheart, (1500/1600 Warrior, Earth) and equip it with Cyclone Boomerang. This increases his attack by 500 (2000/1600) than I'll have him attack your giant ant."

"But that will destroy them both."

"Totally aware of that dude." Wildheart charged at the giant ant destroying them both. Phane was desperate to get that bug off the field.

"Well, I'll activate Rageiki Break. I'll discard Silent Insect to destroy Wildheart."

"Don't think so dude, Wildheart's unaffected by trap cards. My attack stands." Wildheart's attack collided with the ant and both monsters were destroyed.

"My move, and I'll remove my Anteatereatingant and Silent Insect from play to summon Doom Dozer, (2800/2600 Insect, Earth) then I'll attack you directly." (Phane LP-100)

"That kind of hurt dude."

"You bet, and that's not all when Doom Dozer deals damage you have to discard the top card go your deck to the graveyard."

"Thanks dude, I needed that."

"What? You're happy you lost a card?"

"Yeah 'cause now I can summon Elemental Hero Bladedge (2600/1800 Warrior, Earth) to the field."

"How, he's level 7."

"My E. Hero Necroshade in the graveyard allows me to summon Bladedge without any sacrifices."

"When did you get another monster in your graveyard?"

"When your Doom Dozer attacked me," Bartholomew was shocked that the card he thought would win him the duel had just put him in a huge jam, "Then I'll activate Oversoul, this allows me to bring back an E. Hero from my graveyard. Say hello to Sparkman, then I'll activate Block Attack. Now Bladedge (3600/1800) will attack Doom Dozer," Bladedge sliced and diced the Doom Dozer, dealing a lot of damage to Bartholomew's life points (Bartholomew LP-1400), "then Sparkman will attack finishing you off." (Bartholomew LP-0000)

"Alright Phane," Kopagh and Parka shouted in unison, "You squashed him."

"I did, didn't I," said Phane triumphantly.

"How could I lose," cried Bartholomew, who was in shock that he'd lost to a Slifer Red, "you've destroyed my hive."

"Quit whining Bartholomew," came a voice, "first you take my spot in the roster, then you lose to this cretin." Suddenly a boy appeared. He was about equal to Phane in height, but much bulkier. He was wearing a blue blazer that was unbuttoned in the front, allowing it to hang freely like a coat. He had a chiseled face and sea-green hair that was slicked back in large strands. "My my, my, my. Once again Bartholomew you prove that bugs are nothing but pests. Let me show you how to take down a Slifer slacker."

"You think you can take me down dude?" asked Phane, "Well I'll show you why this class was started."

"That's very touching, but I'll sink you; let's duel!" and with that they activated their duel disks, and Phane drew his six.

"Who's that guy?" Parka inquired to Kopagh.

"That's David Jones, he's the top water duelist in this school. He was even trained by Bastion Misawa."

"Whoa, Bastion Misawa, the dueling genius? That's amazing!"

"Hey are you guys going to pay attention to my duel, or just keep talking?" yelled Phane.

"Sorry." they both apologized.

"Alright I'll play E. Hero Wildheart in attack mode, and play a face down. Your turn," Phane was confident this strategy would work. David drew his sixth card and made his move."

"Right, I'll summon Sea Monkeys (500/400 Aqua, Water) in attack mode," five little white sea creatures, which resembled humanoid sea-horses, appeared, "next when their summoned I can summon two more copies of that card from my deck. And for each copy of Sea Monkeys I have out I can double one Sea Monkeys attack," now the first Sea Monkey he summoned had 2000 ATK points.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Phane, "that's a pretty nifty little effect ya got there."

"Yes, but if I attack with that Sea Monkey my other two can't attack. I will, however, attack with my stronger one," the super Sea Monkeys shot a jet of extremely high pressure water at Wildheart.

"I activate Hero Barrier negating your attack."

"I'll play a face down, and end my turn."

"I'll activate Polymerization, and fuse together the Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000 Warrior, Wind) with my Elemental Hero Wildheart on the field to form Elemental Hero Wildwingman," (1900/2300) the Wild Wingman that appeared on the field didn't look like anything special. He was basically Wildheart with Avian's arms, legs, and wings. "Now I can discard one card from my hand to destroy one magic or trap card on the field. Then I'll attack, E. Hero Wildwingman destroy his weaker Sea Monkey," (David LP-2600) "now I'll play a face down and end. Your turn dude."

"I'll play Chthonian Alliance. This allows the equipped monster to gain 800 extra attack points for each copy of that card on the field, and I'll equip it to my weaker Sea Monkeys. Its attack is now 2100. Then I'll summon Pod Whale (1600/1000 Aqua, Water) to the field in attack mode. I'll then attack with my Sea Monkeys."

"I'll activate De-Fusion, separating my Wildwingman into two monsters again."

"Fine, I'll have my Pod Whale destroy your E. Hero Avian," the Pod Whale charged, and with a mighty crash it obliterated the Elemental Hero Avian, (Phane LP-3400) "When my Pod Whale destroys your monster I can special summon another Pod Whale from my deck. Pod Whale attack his Wildheart," this Pod Whale's attack seemed even more vicious than the first, (Phane LP-3300) but David's assault on Phane's life points wasn't over yet, "Next all of my Sea Monkeys will attack you directly," (Phane LP-200) David had Phane on the ropes, and Phane was starting to worry, "You're done for slacker, it's your move."

"Fine I draw," as soon as Phane saw his draw all his worry went away, "Ha! I activate The Warrior Returning Alive dude, this allows me to add a warrior type monster from my graveyard to my hand."

"That won't make one difference, you don't have anything in your graveyard powerful enough to destroy my Sea Monkeys."

"I know. But if I fuse the E. Hero Wildheart in my hand, with the Bladedge in my hand I can create the Elemental Hero Wildedge dude. (2600/2300 Warrior, Earth) Next I'll have him attack, all of your monsters!"

"What! How can you attack them all?"

"My Wildedge's special ability allows me to attack every monster on your side of the field." (David LP-0000)

"How could I lose to a slacker? It doesn't make any sense."

"It makes perfect sense to me dude. You underestimated me, thought I was a Slifer Slacker. When in reality, I am a Slifer Slayer dude," suddenly in the distance there was clapping. "Bravo," came a voice. "You've defeated my three most promising underlings. You must be so proud of yourself," a figure appeared in the entrance of the duel arena. Phane suddenly stiffened, and seemed to have a strong determination about him. Parka felt something when this happened. He suddenly had an air about him; the same air Parka had sensed when he first met Phane.

"Been awhile, hasn't it Art dude," said Phane to the shadowy figure.

"Yes I suppose it has Phaneolin," replied the shadowy figure.

"Phaneolin?" Parka inquired.

"Yes, Phaneolin is my full name," answered Phane with an irritated tone, "But that don't matter dude. What matters is that we're going to duel, again." Phane readied his duel disk and took a stance, which suggested he was about to enter a fistfight.

"Duel? Again? Hah, Phaneolin don't you ever get tired of embarrassing yourself by losing to me?" Phane replied with a "Naw dude, long as I'm dueling I'm happy."

"Well then we shall begin. Prepare to bow to Sir Arthur Roland the third." a tall thin figure appeared from the duel arena entrance. He was wearing a monocle and had finely combed black hair. "You Phaneolin, can go first," Phane drew his six cards, and the duel was on.

"I'll summon Elemental Hero Bubbleman to the field in attack mode. And when he's summoned all on his lonesome, I can draw two cards from my deck. Next I'll play two face downs, and end my turn dude."

"Dude? Your language is revolting. With your father being a noble I would have thought that he would have raised you better. Oh well. I'll summon Spirit Ryu (1000/1000 Dragon, Wind) in attack mode. Then I'll discard two dragon type cards from my hand to increase his attack by 2000, then I'll attack your Bubbleman," the Spirit Ryu snaked it's blue body through the air towards Bubbleman. Arthur seemed very sure of himself.

"I'll activate Bubble Shuffle, I can switch my Bubbleman and one of your monsters to defense mode. Then by sacrificing my Bubbleman I can summon Elemental Hero Necroshade (1600/1800 Warrior, Dark) to the field," Phane had survived the round, but there were many more to come. After all this is the only member of S.A.I.D. that Phane has not been able to beat. Ever since he tried to get in to the class this fact has bothered him, but this duel was different. He felt like he could beat anyone who faced him. He wondered if this had something to do with the arrival of his new roommate. "Try to beat me now dude!" yelled Phane, who was not making any effort to hide his excitement.

"One good move, nothing special about it. I'll play a face down and end my turn."

"O.K. my draw, and I'll summon E. Hero Burstinatrix in attack mode. Now I'll attack your Spirit Ryu with Burstinatrix, Burstinatrix attack with Burstfire," Phane's E. Hero launched a valiant attack, but to no avail. It was thwarted by Arthur's trap card.

"I activate Breath of a Baby Dragon. When there is a level 4-dragon type monster on my side of the field I can reduce the attack of one of your monsters by 100 for each dragon monster in my graveyard. And I'll reduce the attack of you Burstinatrix by 200," this decrease in the E. Hero's power made her break even with the Spirit Ryu.

"You won't survive my Necroshade's attack, you're finished dude," Necroshade leaped high into the air, and with one swift landing sliced the blue serpentine dragon into nothing. "I end dude."

"I'll summon Luster Dragon #1, (1900/1600 Dragon, Wind) and destroy you're Burstinatrix. Luster Dragon, Sapphire Breath Blast," the dragon launched a stream of sapphire air from his mouth and destroyed the Elemental Hero Burstinatrix. (Phane LP-3300)

"That's nothing, just a little chip off my life points. Oh, and since you destroyed my Burstinatrix I can activate Hero Signal. I'll summon Elemental Hero Wildheart."

"Well played Phaneolin, but you still don't have any monsters strong enough to destroy my Luster Dragon. Especially after I activate Dragon's Treasure, this will increase my dragon's attack by 300. It's your turn."

"I'll draw, then activate Polymerization, thus creating Elemental Hero Necroidshaman," (1900/1800 Warrior, Dark) a dark skin witch doctor with a tribal mask appeared on the field. He was carrying a monk staff and had wild red hair. "And when he's special summoned I can destroy one monster on your side of the field, then choose one from your grave yard to summon to your side of the field. Now I'll have him destroy your Luster Dragon," the Necroidshaman pushed a blowpipe firmly against his lips and blew. A dart shot out the pipe and cut through the air until it collided with the Luster Dragon's neck. The dragon exploded in a cloud of smoke, and as soon as the Luster Dragon disappeared the Spirit Ryu appeared because of the other part of the shaman's effect. "Now I'll attack and destroy your Spirit Ryu," the shaman jumped at the Spirit Ryu with his witch doctor staff raised high above his head. The attack landed square on, and the Spirit Ryu shattered and was sent right back to the graveyard. (Arthur LP-3100) Arthur growled in frustration with this attack on his life points. "A minor annoyance, it's my turn and I draw. I'll play Armed Dragon Lv3 (1200/900 Dragon, Wind) in attack mode, and set two facedowns. Your turn," Arthur seemed to be very satisfied with his move.

"I'll draw then, summon E. Hero Sparkman in attack mode. Now my Sparkman will attack with Shining Surge Flash," the Sparkman shot a bolt of lightning towards the tiny dragon, however his attack was met with a stream of fire. "What happened!" yelled Phane when he saw his attack had become void. "My Sparkman's attack was cancelled."

"Indeed it was. This was due to the activation of my trap card, Breath of a Hatchling. When there is a level three or lower dragon monster on my side of the field I can negate one of your attacks."

"Your dragon's still not safe dude. I then attack with my shaman," this attack mimicked the first from his Elemental Hero Necroidshaman. The attack shattered the miniature Armed Dragon, who never stood a chance. (Arthur LP-2400) "Now is it just a minor annoyance, Art?"

"Yes. It quite is. Now hurry up and end your turn."

"What's the hurry dude? You need to be more laid back, like me and my buddies here," Phane said in response as he stared at his friends, who were watching from the sidelines. "I'll end, but I think you're the one who's finished."

"We shall see. I'll draw, and then activate my face down Dragon's Egg. When I activate this I can summon a level three or lower dragon monster from my deck, and I choose the Armed Dragon LV3. But that's not all. When I summon that dragon in this way I can activate it's special ability," Art had a satisfied smirk on his face, this expression was completely contrast to Phane's, which had a look of horror on his face. "I now summon the Armed Dragon Lv5 (2400/1700 Dragon, Wind) to dominate the field. Then I'll activate his special ability, I'll discard Paladin of White Dragon, who has 1900 attack points, to destroy your Necroidshaman," the giant red and black dragon launched a barrage of rocket powered shrapnel at the E. Hero, "Now I'll attack and destroy your E. Hero Sparkman," (Phane LP-2500) at this attack Phane grunted, "Now I end my turn, and during the end phase of a turn that this card destroyed a monster I can summon the all powerful Armed Dragon Lv7!" (2800/1000 Dragon, Wind) the Lv5 Armed Dragon began to glow, and in a matter of seconds it had evolved into a mightier dragon. The new dragon was larger and longer than the one before it. The enormous dragon was decked out in giant drills, spikes, and blades. The wind began to swirl as the Armed Dragon Lv7 rose to stand on its hind legs. "Are you worried yet Slacker?" asked Arthur who had to scream to be heard over the swirling winds created by the immense dragon. "I'll play two face downs. It's your turn, but you can't do any thing to stop my dragon!" Arthur broke away from the prim and proper English he was accustomed to, and broke into maniacal laughter.

"It's my turn," Phane's voice now had an extremely depressed tone to it.

"What's up with you?" Parka yelled. Phane looked at him with an expression of confusion. "You're way better than this guy. Sure this dragon's powerful, but it's just one monster. You can figure out a way to beat this jerk, you just have to think," Parka's words seemed to have had a profound affect on Phane. His expression was now one of deep thought. Phane looked at his hand, and suddenly had a delighted look on his face.

"You're right I just need to concentrate. This card just saved me dude, I'll play a face down then activate Oversoul. This allows me to summon an Elemental Hero to the field, and I choose Sparkman. Next I play Pot of Greed, this allows me to draw two cards. Then I'll activate Emergency Call, this let's me get one E. Hero from my deck to my hand. I'll select my soarin' dude Avian. Now I'll activate The Warrior Returning Alive. Bubbleman returns to my hand, I'll then activate Polymerization and fuse Bubbleman, Avian, and Sparkman. Now please welcome the Elemental Hero Tempest." (2800/2800 Warrior, Wind)

"He still doesn't stand a chance against my dragon."

"Do your math Art, he could take you out dude. I'll summon Bladedge with no sacrifices due to Necroshade's effect. Now my Tempest will destroy the Armed Dragon Lv7," the Elemental Hero Tempest shot a stream of neon blue energy obliterating the Armed Dragon Lv7.

"How did your Tempest survive? His attack and my Armed Dragon's are equal."

"Yeah but when Tempest special ability activates, I can sacrifice one card on my side of the field to stop him from being destroyed in battle. I end."

"It's my turn and I draw. I activate my face down Level Modulation, this allows you to draw two cards," Phane drew his two, "Then I can summon Armed Dragon Lv5 from my graveyard."

"But thinks to Level Modulations affect he can't attack," stated Phane.

"That's why I'm going to activate Level Up! I'll sacrifice my Armed Dragon Lv5 to summon Armed Dragon Lv7 from my deck. Then I'll discard Red Eyes Black Metal Dragon (2800) to destroy all of your face up monsters!" the dragon stood on it's mighty hind legs and launched three giant, swirling, blades which destroyed Tempest, "Now my dragon will attack and finish you, attack!"

"I'll activate Negate Attack, stopping your big 'ol lizard."

"I'll end, but this is far from over."

"Not with this card I drew, I'll lay this card in defense mode and play a face down. Your move dude."

"My turn I'll attack your defense position monster," the Armed Dragon Lv7 attacked the face down with giant metal covered fist.

"You destroyed Buccaneer (500/400 Warrior, Water) and when he's flipped I can draw one card and destroy one of your monsters."

"You think you can beat me, but your delusional. I activate Breath of a Passed On Dragon; this allows me to increase my life points by amount equal to the attack of the strongest dragon monster in my graveyard. That happens to be the Armed Dragon Lv7. (Arthur LP-5200) Then I'll play a face down defensive card. Hurry up slacker, I don't have all day."

"Fine, then I'll activate Exchange of Spirit during your end phase. With this I pay 1000 life points; (Phane LP-1500) and then we both swap the cards in our deck with the ones in our graveyard!" Arthur no longer had a confident expression on his face. He seemed worried; Phane's best cards were back in his deck. Arthur suddenly thought he had nothing to fear though.

"That doesn't matter, you still only have one card in your hand. There's nothing you can do."

"Wrong, I draw, then activate Pot of Greed. I'll draw my two, and play Hero Tag Team. With this I can get two Elemental Heroes from deck and add them to my hand. Also, I get a bonus hero for every Miracle Fusion and Polymerization in my hand when I activate Hero Tag team. Now I'll call Burstinatrix, Sparkman, Bubbleman, and Avian to my hand. Now Avian will make an appearance on the field. Next Miracle Fusion comes into play; Avian on my field will fuse with the Clayman in my graveyard, to form the Elemental Hero Clay Wingman," (1800/1800 Warrior, Wind) the two heroes were thrown into a swirl of colors, and they emerged as one. The new hero was proportioned like the Thunder Giant. His upper body was much larger than the lower half, and there was a green orb right in between its stomach and chest. His upper body wasn't patterned like the Thunder Giant though. It was dark gray, and was shaped liked Flame Wingman's Chest. The left arm was also that of the Flame Wingman, but the right arm-where the wingman's dragon usually is was basically the chest and head of Clayman. He didn't have a tail; and his legs didn't seem to offer much support. He levitated with his huge wings of stone. He was truly a sight to behold. "But that's not all. Dude you're finished, Elemental Hero Sparkman and Elemental Hero Burstinatrix fuse together, with Polymerization to form the Elemental Hero Flame Boltman," (2200/2000 Warrior, Light) this was possibly even more spectacular than the Clay Wingman. This new hero was built just like the Flame Wingman, but instead of green and black he was red and gold. There was a little bit more gold than red, due to the fact that he was wearing a larger version of Sparkman's armor. The left arm was of the hero was a red and gold mix, like the rest of him, but the right arm was a blue dragon. The dragon was the same shade of blue as Sparkman's body. This dragon was different though, it looked as though it was one of those Chinese dragon's with the serpentine body.

"I've never seen these cards before," yelped Arthur with surprise when he saw the two new E. Heroes, "No matter. Neither one can penetrate my Dragon's defense."

"Wrong dude," was Phanes reply to this statement, "And I'll prove it. Elemental Hero Clay Wingman, attack his face down monster."

"Hah, it's Dragon Dwelling in the Cave. (1300/2000 Dragon, Wind) Your monster's not strong enough to destroy mine."

"It doesn't have to be; dude. 'Cause with Clay Wingman's special ability any of your defense position monsters it attacks are destroyed."

"But that leaves me wide open."

"To take a page from your book, indeed it does… dude. And the worst is yet to come. When my hero destroys a defense position monster the difference in their attack and defense it dealt to your life points, (Arthur LP-5000) and after that monster he destroyed is sent to the graveyard it's defense points are taken off of your life points," (Arthur LP-3000) Arthur now had a fearful look on his face. Phane couldn't believe it; he was about to beat the one member of S.A.I.D. that he never had before.

"Sorry to break this to you Phaneolin, but you still don't have enough strength to beat me. And next turn you're finished; I'll even let you see how by letting you see the cards in my hand," In Arthur's hand were the cards that could beat Phane if he didn't end the duel this turn. Arthur had Monster Reborn, which he could use to bring back an Armed Dragon Lv5. He would then use Level Up, to upgrade him to Lv7. After that Arthur would discard another Armed Dragon Lv5 in his hand to destroy all monsters on Phane's field. Arthur would then attack directly and win. Phane saw this combination, but did not seemed worried.

"I'm going to win this turn, and show you how in a minute. For now though I want Elemental Hero Flame Boltman to attack you directly," the Flame Boltman rose into the air and fired a devastating stream of lightning at Arthur. (Arthur LP-800) Arthur had an expression on his face that looked as if he'd just won the duel. "You've lost my friend, looks like your dear old Dad's idea of 'dueling with passion' is nothing but gibberish. I mean, look where it got you, so close. And yet you still haven't beaten me; you must be a disappointment to your entire family."

At this point, someone would become extremely enraged. Insulting someone's family is bad, but entitling someone the disgrace of their entire family is right damn infuriating. Phane had his head held low with his hair covering his face. It looked as though he would explode into a hell storm of rage. Instead though he just looked up and smiled. He wore his usual expression of laid-back laziness. It seemed like he didn't have a care in the world, like life was one big party. This surprising attitude of Phane's left a calming impression on Kopagh and Parka. Parka knew at that moment that he was right about Phane, he was different.

"Dude, you just lost. So don't be talkin'."

"What do you mean? I still have life points left; and you have no more monsters to attack with. You've seen my hand, I've won this duel."

"Actually dude I don't need to attack," at this statement Arthur raised a curious eyebrow.

"What do you mean? How do you plan to take out my life points without attacking?"

"With my Flame Boltman's special ability I can discard one monster from my hand, and inflict direct damage to you equal to its attack. And I'll discard the E. Hero Bubbleman." (Arthur LP-0000) the Elemental Hero Flame Boltman's right arm started to surge with electrical energy. When he was fully charged the dragon arm opened its mouth, and launched a huge ball of electricity at Arthur; ending the duel.

"That's impossible. I lost to you, but how."

"Because you duel with money," answered Phane, "you don't duel with the love of the game. If you're not having fun dueling, then what's the point?"  
"You duel to prove your skill, to prove you're better than everyone else," suddenly Parka burst in. "Do you actually believe that?" everyone looked at him in a little bit of surprise (since he'd been so quiet) but allowed him to continue, "If you only duel to prove your skill; then why did you come here? Duel Academy isn't a place where you come to prove how good you are, it's a place where you come to get better. And if you believe that only the most expensive cards are worth having, then you wouldn't be here. Because people that believe that think they have reached their potential that they can't get any better than they already are. Those are the same people that believe skill goes to the highest bidder," these words seemed to have made Arthur have an epiphany.

"Parka you are right. I remember when I first started dueling, it was for fun. When my father bought me a starter deck. I strived to get better after I saw Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragons in play once. Those, and every other dragon in this game, infatuated me. But," and he said this with a heavy sigh, "My father pressured me to enter every tournament he could find. Tournaments were fun at first, even if I lost. The more he pushed me though, the more it became like a chore."

"That's not right; someone taking a something a kid does for fun and turning into to nothing but pure competition."

"My father said if you were better at something than somebody else, than you were better than them period. Over time I suppose I came to accept it as a fact. I thought my dad was supporting me for me. I was in denial that my father was exploiting my skill. He was molding me into what he thought could make money."

"Sounds like you and your dad need to work some things out dude."

"Yes it would seem so," said Arthur with a small smile on his face, "Yet I must first apologize to you. Phane I now see why your father started this club. It was for the reasons you said; I was just to bull headed to take you seriously. You're father was in the same social class as me, but he knew that that alone couldn't determine what kind of a person he was. That is a lesson I had to learn the hard way," Arthur's face now had an even bigger smile. It seemed he was doing all he could to keep from bursting out laughing in joy.

"Well that was fun," said Phane with a sigh of relief as he started to leave.

"Wait, Phane; do you remember why you came here?" inquired Arthur.

"Oh yeah," replied Phane remembering his S.A.I.D. membership, "I almost forgot about that. I guess I get out of my last three classes of the day now huh dude," he said with huge smile while scratching the back of his head. This made his friends jaws drop nearly to ground. Parka cried, "You get miss you're last three classes if you're in this class! I should be in here; I beat the second best duelist in the school," this seemed to surprise Parka that his amazing first conquest at Duel Academy did not earn him even a chance to get into a special achievements class.

"Yes I heard of your match; congratulations. I have, however, received a direct order from the Senior Headmaster of this school, that you are not to be allowed entrance into this school club," this took away his sense of surprise and replaced it with anger.

"Why? I should be allowed entrance into this club just as anyone else should."

"I fully agree Parka, and the reason he said you specifically are not allowed to enter is because you're not good enough," this sent Parka into a state of enraged shock. "I beat the second best duelist in the school," Parka thought to himself. He was mainly enraged at the fact he was being judged by a man he didn't even know existed.

"Are you alright," asked Kopagh; addressing Phane, "Hello. Wake up man," Parka was snapped out of his trance and headed out towards the exit to the duel arena.

"Where ya headed dude," said Phane looking back at Parka. Parka let out a deep sigh and said "I just gotta clear my head," and Parka was gone.

"Oh, Phaneolin before I forget. This is a special invitation to duel a special opponent."

"Really? Who?" said Phane excited by the invitation to duel a special opponent.

"Who else, the Machine King of Duel Academy. Syrus Truesdale."


End file.
